By The Diary
20 Aug 2024, 09:31 AM EDT
In Venezuela, the social network X remains blocked, after the 10 days of temporary suspension announced by Nicolás Maduro have expired and without any new information having been offered on the matter.
Eleven days after the announcement, it is still impossible to access the platform without using virtual private networks (VPNs), the anti-filtering Internet programs that have become popular in Venezuela to bypass the blocks imposed by the pro-government National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel).
Although Maduro and Jorge Rodríguez, president of the Chavista National Assembly, discussed the “damage” that social networks supposedly cause on Monday, neither of them openly referred to X’s suspension, ordered due to an alleged attempt by the platform to “sow violence” in Venezuela, according to Maduro.
On Monday, during his weekly television show, the leader of Chavismo repeatedly mentioned the owner of X, the South African businessman Elon Musk, whom he accuses of promoting fascism and violence in the South American country.
“Elon Musk and X out of Latin America,” Maduro said, without referring to the suspension, after considering that Musk “made a mistake” and “crashed” with Venezuela.
On August 8, the head of the regime asked the US company to present requirements (without specifying which ones) and wait for Conatel to establish a “definitive administrative measure,” which remains undisclosed.
Since then, state institutions, including the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), the National Assembly (AN) and the National Electoral Council (CNE), and the authorities of the Venezuelan regime, have stopped using X to publicize their actions, in the midst of a political crisis due to the lack of recognition of the presidential elections of July 28, in which Maduro was proclaimed by the president of the official CNE as the winner.
On the other hand, the heads of public power and Chavista spokesmen have migrated to platforms such as Telegram and Instagram, while the leaders of the Venezuelan opposition use X as the main means of disseminating their activities and statements.
On social media, the opposition has published videos explaining how to install a VPN, a practice that was already promoted by various digital media outlets, whose domains have been blocked in recent years by Chavismo.
Continue reading:
- Maduro threatens opposition artists abroad: “their families are in Venezuela”
- Venezuelan journalists denounce increased repression against media since elections
- TikTok wants a “civil war” in Venezuela, says Maduro